Nose is weak, with a hint of peat. Taste is smooth, easy, even buttery at first -- but it goes nowhere. Pleasant and likable, but totally forgettable. A little peat helps the finish. But this does very little for me.

Hard not to like. A sweeter peat smoke -- lots of it, but light in style. Makes me think of white smoke rather than dark black. A nice sweetness underneath. There are other better Islays, and Ardbegs, but its so drinkable.

A straight up classic from Islay. I love the earthy peat and dusty, almost metallic background that young Ardbegs have. I always keep a bottle of this around and I look for specific batches (bottle codes) to be sure that I get a good one.